By Frank Rudge, REALTOR® | RE/MAX Camosun | 50 Years in Greater Victoria
Clients ask me this question every spring. What is the number one mistake buyers make in Victoria's market?
My answer has not changed in 50 years. Buyers get careless in bidding wars.
A well-priced house in Oak Bay or Saanich East can draw six offers on its first weekend. That is the moment when families make the most expensive decision of their year, and they make it in under 48 hours.
I watch it happen. A couple falls in love with a 1950s bungalow near Willows Beach. Their REALTOR® calls to say there are five other offers. The couple panics. They add $30,000, then another $25,000, then drop the inspection condition they should have kept. They win the house. They pay $60,000 more than the next-highest offer, and they learn about the knob-and-tube wiring three months later.
The opposite mistake costs the same amount. A buyer refuses to stretch, loses the house by $5,000, and spends the next four months chasing comparable homes in a market that has moved past their budget.
Neither outcome is necessary.
What a Skilled REALTOR® Does in a Bidding War
After 50 years of negotiating offers in this market, my job in a multiple-offer situation is to read the other side and protect my client from paying more than the house is worth.
Reading the other side means knowing the listing agent, recognizing how they price, and judging which of the competing offers are serious. Most buyers never see this work. That is the point. Negotiation is the one skill in real estate that stays invisible until it shows up on the final price.
Three Rules for Any Buyer Walking Into a Victoria Offer
Decide your walk-away number before the offer deadline. Write it down. Tell your REALTOR®. Your walk-away is the price where you can lose the house without regret. Every dollar above it is a dollar you will think about for years.
Ask your REALTOR® what they know about the listing agent. Experienced negotiators have patterns. A REALTOR® who has closed thousands of deals in Victoria over decades should recognize those patterns on sight.
Keep your conditions in unless your REALTOR® gives you a specific reason to drop one. "Everyone else is going unconditional" is not a reason. A waived inspection on a 1940s Fairfield house can cost you $80,000 in hidden repairs.
The Pattern I Have Watched for 50 Years
Buyers who prepare win at fair prices. Buyers who react pay too much or miss the house. I have watched this pattern in Greater Victoria for over 40 years, and before that for five years in Edmonton, where I was the top-selling agent multiple times.
If you are getting ready to buy in Greater Victoria this year and you want someone experienced on your side of the table, call me.
Frank Rudge, REALTOR®
RE/MAX Camosun · 4440 Chatterton Way, Victoria BC
📞 250-361-5052 · ✉️ frankrudge@shaw.com
Frank has sold real estate full-time since 1976. He is a RE/MAX Hall of Fame and Lifetime Achievement recipient, and has qualified for the RE/MAX 100% Club for more than 40 consecutive years.